NOW PLAYING

Al-Zawahiri urges Pakistan quake aid

Al-Qaida's second-in-command has called on the world's Muslims to assist those afflicted by the devastating earthquake.

23 Oct 2005 15:15 GMT

Al-Zawahiri called on Muslims to assist earthquake victims

In a videotaped message broadcast by Aljazeera on Sunday, Ayman al-Zawahiri appealed to Muslims to help those who are suffering in Pakistan.

"We have sadly received the news of the disaster that befell the Pakistani Muslim people following the earthquake that struck the region," he said.

"We ask Allah (God) to grant those killed in the earthquake the positions of martyrs and pious people.

"My brothers and myself wish to be among you, our dear brothers, on this day.

"However, agents of America are standing in our way to help our Muslim brothers in their distress.

"Today, I call on Muslims in general, and on Islamic relief organisations in particular, to go to Pakistan and help their Pakistani brothers and withstand the troubles and harm they face for this purpose.

"We all know the raging American war against Islamic charitable work.

"We all know that Musharraf's government is a chip of the American intelligence.

"However, despite all this, I urge all Muslims to rush in helping their brothers in Pakistan by all means and by transferring as much aid as possible," he added.

Earlier broadcast

In September, al-Zawahiri used a videotaped message broadcast on Aljazeera to dismiss the legitimacy of Afghanistan's parliamentary elections."The elections have been conducted under the terror of [Afghanistan's] war lords," he said.

Al-Zawahiri (L) is second in command after bin Laden (R)

He added that northern Afghanistan and Kabul had become "an area of chaos, plundering, theft, violations and drug business" under American occupation.

"The elections were a masquerade more than anything else, as various regions of the country are under the control of highwaymen and war lords, and international observers ... cannot cover more than one-tenth of the [electoral] districts," al-Zawahiri said.